Business Books

TERRY ALLEN FOR TIME

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In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules By Stacy Perman Collins Business; 345 pages

Hamburgers. Fries. Soft drinks. After decades of Big Macs and Whoppers, that combo hardly seems to qualify for cult status. But as this entertaining corporate history demonstrates, doing something basic--but exceedingly well--has catapulted In-N-Out Burger to pop-culture stardom. The California-based chain, which owns 232 restaurants in the Western U.S., causes "burger jams" every time it opens a new location. Famous habitués, from Tom Cruise to Julia Child, have given the fare impassioned (unpaid) endorsements. In short, says Perman (a former TIME writer), "it is the envy of the industry and the darling of investment bankers, who routinely put In-N-Out on their IPO wish list."

Keep wishing. The Snyder family--secretive and at times turbulent--has stubbornly resisted outside investors since the restaurant's inception in 1948. Its fierce devotion to its core business--serving tasty, nonfrozen, nonmicrowaved, made-to-order burgers and fries--has kept the company profitable and growing; remember that hundreds of fast-food-franchise concepts have flamed out since then. "Keep it real simple," Harry Snyder, a co-founder with his wife Esther of In-N-Out, would often say. "Do one thing, and do it the best you can." The company thrived on its stellar customer service and higher-than-average wages.

Instructive, but we're still talking about burgers. What makes the Snyders' story worth reading is that it's as much cultural history as corporate. The company evolved in perfect sync with postwar Southern California, whose car culture and highway-fed suburbs blossomed as In-N-Out was building the first drive-throughs.

As with many family firms, there's more than a little drama too. The Snyders had two sons: Rich, who became a born-again Christian, and Guy, who worshipped fast cars and hard drugs. Rich took over the business but died in a plane crash in 1993. Guy then led the company until his Elvis-like accidental overdose in 1999.

Perman's reporting is considerable, with 34 pages of footnotes to prove this is no quick-serve history--maybe to a fault. And her lively writing style occasionally leads to too much relish: "In-N-Out's fan-customers can usually remember the first time they ate at an In-N-Out much in the same way that most people can remember their first kiss." Well, maybe.

Games at Work: How to Recognize & Reduce Office Politics By Mauricio Goldstein and Philip Read Jossey-Bass; 240 pages

There's nothing funny about mind games in the workplace, say the authors of this sober-minded guide to understanding underhanded office maneuvers. Such games include "the boss said" (invoking the name of a rainmaker, sometimes falsely, to get your way), stealing credit and--that time-tested misdeed--scurrilous gossiping. Simply waking up to games people play and rejecting them is a big part of the battle for executives, say the authors. But don't expect to zap all games: that's "akin to trying to stop employees from daydreaming."

Think Like a Champion By Donald Trump Vanguard Press; 198 pages